So Victor, tell me about yourself; Well I was born in New York, raised in Califonia until I graduated from high school. I joined the NAVY right away and ended up in Vietnam, Grenada and Beirut/Lebanon. I served from 1973 – 1984 as a helcopter crew chief / rescue swimmer and combat rescue until I was injured and discharged for an injury in a helicopter accident during a special operations mission. I have been around the world and enjoyed it all. I have a wonderful wife and between the two of us we have 6 children all grown with families of their own. I have been in the Springfield area since 2008 and have made this my home. I hold a commercial pilots and commercial drivers license and love to scuba dive and sail boats.
You have 2 businesses? Yes, full time and since 1999 I run and manage EntreMANURE K-9 Waste Removal, a residential and commercial dog waste removal service. Part time I run and manage GROSSO GLASS Windshield Rock Chip Repair, a 100% mobile service to repair rock chip damage in windshields where 90% of the repairs are insurance claims with the deductibles waived making it a FREE repair.
How did you get into those fields? Well, GROSSO GLASS I actually started back in 1988 and ran that company for over 4 years doing also replacement work. I was a letter carrier with the Post Office and was looking for extra money while on my off time. So this year I decided to get back into this to bring in more income since I have the experience at it.
EntreMANURE was started becasue I was looking for something easy on my body especially my left knee since age was catching up with me. I was injured while serving as a helicopter crew chief/combat rescue and was involved in a helicopter crash during an extraction attempt in Beirut/Lebanon for a down and injured soldier back in 1981. So, around Thanksgiving of 1999 while on vacation I thought about doing this type work and started researching my idea. In December of 1999 I kicked it off and have been doing it ever since.
Why do you think it’s important for people to do business with someone they know? Well, trust is a big issue with me. If I know someone and they have done good work, they are honest and have integrity, then I will consistantly use that persons business. They have proven their workmanship and loyalty, its just good business practice!
What does the Shop Local movement mean to you? Because far more of the money spent at local businesses is reinvested in your community. This helps other local businesses, which creates greater diversity and helps the community maintain its unique appeal. Shopping local is environmentally friendly, too: it creates less traffic and pollution.
You don’t compete with Walmart, but you do compete with Safelite. How do you beat a giant like that? Well, you can’t beat the giant but you can let them know your at their heals everyday. Unfortunately, they are so big that 90%+ of the insurance companies use them as a 3rd party to go through to get insurance glass claims done and I acutally get paid by Safelite. But if it comes down to a cash repair because the deductible cannot be waived, their average price is over $90 to fix a ding in your windshield where I can come and do it for less than half of that right at $35. They are so big that its news that their quality of work is not good. You loose quality when you have so much quantity as far as they are concerned.
What else would you like to share Victor? I operate my business with honesty and integrity, I would not cheat anyone for even a penny. I pride myself in my work, I am not perfect but I have high expectations of my self and carry that down to providing the best customer service I can. Everyday is a new day and I hit the pavement running, the early bird catches the worm.